Food Myths

Myths. We listen to all sorts of myths. Whether we believe them or not is a completely different issue. But do you realize how many food myths you have probably heard and possibly believed?

Fruit juice for instance, is the basis of one of the biggest food myths! It is often assumed that fruit juice is healthy and good for us. However, people are surprised to find out that it really isn’t! Drinking fruit juice is not the equivalent to eating a fruit like many people often think. Fruit juice is loaded up with sugar, so much that they often have just as much sugar and calories as soda. The newer orange juice products with added calcium or Vitamin D don’t give your body the same amount of nutrients that eating the fruit would either.

Just because a food is said to be low fat doesn't necessarily mean it is healthier! Our bodies actually need some fat. Many foods that you find to be labeled with "low fat" are often low in the fats that are actually healthy. When picking food, we can't assume low fat means healthier. It all depends on what fats the food contains. Look for foods high in omega-3 fatty acids, fats from avocados, olives and nuts. Those are definitely dishes where you don’t want to be seeing the “low fat” label. Many “low fat” labeled foods are high in sugar and refined carbs like white sugar, which our body really doesn’t need. 

The "don't eat after 6 o'clock" rule. It's all bull!! There are the 6, 7, or 8 o'clock rules, but none of those rules are actually true. Yes, many celebrities swear by these rules saying that if you don't eat passed a certain time you'll lose weight, but it's not true. Our metabolism does slow down while we sleep, but it does not stop completely like many Hollywood dietitians have lead us to believe. The food will still be well digested if we decide to eat after 6, 7, or 8 o’clock!

Kids need milk to grow strong. Wrong! Humans aren't even technically supposed to be drinking milk after nursing (we are the only animal that does). Evolution has made our bodies, or most of our bodies, capable of digesting it. Children don’t need milk to get strong bones, there’s nothing wrong with drinking milk, but it’s not a necessity like many people believe it is. There are many other sources from which children receive calcium from, like leafy green veggies and beans. 

You're supposed to drink 8 glasses of water a day? Nope. There's nothing magical about 8, and there is no real rule about how much water you should drink a day. Yes, water is important, but there's no reason to be paying attention to the number of glasses you are drinking, and 8 glasses won't magically make you healthier. The key is to stay hydrated.

A glass of red wine every day is healthy, sorry to disappoint but that is also a myth. Well it’s not necessarily awful for you either, but red wine has been seen to disrupt your body’s folic acid, which is a vitamin known for it’s anticancer effects, and has caused an increase of cancer found in women who drink a glass a day.

Be careful what you hear isn’t always true!

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Chrisi Keating
Santa Clara University